I have to say that as a missionary we never had our appartment inspected and
some of the places we lived in were pretty low budget and broken down. The one
thing the Church should do is have someone from the area in the stake be
assigned to inspect the apartment regularly. This is something that should never
happen.

I know the church wants these missionaries living in the local communities,
among the local people (I did that in a big eastern US city as a missionary and
lived in some very questionable apartments) but if they want to send out 80,000
missionaries then they should be able to cover the cost of putting them in cars,
not bicycles or even reliant on public transportation, and should put them in
nicer, middle class apartments with security and more modern safety features.

I traveled to Africa on a business trip, into a remote area, and
stayed in nicer, secure locations. It doesn't have to be first class,
luxury apartment living, but they can be better, more secure and safe
accommodations than what missionaries currently have.

I think the
church needs to seriously look at this and upgrade their current standards, even
if that means missionaries have to live outside their area and travel in
everyday.

@patriot Our apartments were inspected every month or two (this was within the
past 20 years). It was mostly for cleanliness but was also done to make sure
things in the apartment were working correctly. The problem is that leaks like
this can develop rapidly and are not easy to find without CO monitors.

I stayed in some pretty rough apartments, some were out right dangerous. The
church needs to make sure that apartments are of a decent standard and that they
have working smoke and carbon monoxide detectors. Peoples lives should not be
put at risk so that the church can save a few dollars.

Patriot... I live in the Albuquerque New Mexico Mission and yes there is a High
Council member who is charge of procuring and inspecting missionary apartments.
This is a tragedy too loose two young missionaries. Their mission continues on
the other side of the veil. I have to think that prayers for the families will
be the only solace to this tragic ending of two young lives.

My heart is broken for the families of these missionaries. I am absolutely sick
to hear this! As a mother of a missionary I agree that it should be standard
procedure for the church to MAKE SURE that our missionaries apartments be
inspected for safety by professionals when at all possible. For all the horrible
stories we hear, there are many that we don't, since there were only
injuries and not deaths involved. My niece saved her companion's life with
CPR after she was electrocuted by a clothes washer (in Chile) There was water on
the floor of the laundry room, and there were no GFCI's in the wiring! I
understand that we can't prevent every bad thing that could possibly go
wrong, and that many countries have sketchy, NON-updated wiring for instance.
However, I'm curious to know if any safety procedures are ever discussed
with missionaries in the MTC for possible eventualities that they might face
(esp. in countries that are not "up to code") or for regional dangers
that they should be aware of. I truly hope that we will learn lessons from these
tragic experiences, especially those which have caused fatalities.

Many lives could be saved if a comprehensive safety and safety training program
were put in place. Professional inspection of each living quarter would only be
a part of it; young missionaries would also be trained to identify and avoid
potential hazards. There would be full time employees with professional
backgrounds in safety watching out for the missionaries. We are asking families
to sacrifice a lot to send their children on missions; at a minimum they should
be able to expect to see their child return safely home.

We are presently serving a mission as a senior couple and one of our assignments
is to inspect all the living quarters of our very loved missionaries. My sister
is also serving in another country and is doing the same thing. By direction of
church authorities, we have purchased and installed CO detectors in the bedrooms
of all our missionaries. Those who ridicule the church and the missionary
program are very mistaken. We love our missionaries and very much appreciate
their love and sacrifice for their fellow man in preaching the gospel of peace
throughout the world. We do everything we can to keep the missionaries safe and
healthy. We love them as much as our own children. Our hearts are broken because
of this tragic accident. Our love and prayers are extended to their families and
friends.

We are all forgetting one very important thing here. Each and every one of our
lives have an "expiration date" stamped on it. We all pass through the
veil when that time on earth is up. None of us can escape it or negotiate for
more time with Heavenly Father. Unfortunately it was just these missionaries
time to die. My heart breaks for those left behind but thanks to the sealing
power given to us by Elijah, they will be together for ever.

Thanks for this format of social network that Elder Bednar spoke about last
week. This can be a time to evaluate what mission presidents can and should
do for their missionaries. Not all have the same type of background to think of
safety from their work experiences and cultural backgrounds or country
experiences. Safety and welfare are important factors as expressed in Section
134. There are not always codes but there can be a person to look at safety,
especially overseas in housing, transportation, etc.

God protects the faithful Saints until their journey in mortal life is through.
Consider Paul, Abinadi, and Joseph Smith, Jr. Consider William Tyndale, Martin
Luther King, Jr., Abraham Lincoln and more. While the passing of a loved one is
surely treacherous, at least the deaths of these two fine young men came without
violence from others or in rebellion to God. Peace comes from doing our best to
live God's commandments and trusting His timetable for ourselves and our
loved ones.

Vests for missionaries on bicycles,, day and night, depending on location, keeps
them more visible. Combination carbon monoxide and smoke detectors can allow
missionaries an alert, if batteries are changed out every six months. Carbon
monoxide is a silent killer and does not discriminate. It causes malaise and
one doesn't realize it is happening to them. An alarm can help as it
doesn't suffer malaise and can be an advance warning there is a problem. A
vest costs a couple of dollars and weighs next to nothing and can be put in a
backpack or even stored on the bike. We have seen missionaries riding bikes in
their dark suits at night on a narrow heavily trafficked road with multiple
trailers in-tow. Having rode with a man who would ride to downtown SLC on his
bicycle who got hit by a truck with multiple-trailers in daylight on Beck street
and survived due to his protective clothing and helmet. I seen others not so
lucky. These elders had helmets but no vests and in dark suits and no
reflectors. There are ways to highlight these elders. Carbon monoxide/smoke
detectors are worth their costs .

With 5-10 LDS missionaries dying/killed every year, the odds of your missionary
dying on a mission are roughly 1/10,000. If you serve your mission for two
years, the probability of losing your child is 1/5,000. I'm sure the
Church is concerned about these incidents and will spend money, thought and time
to ensure (as much as possible because none of us are guaranteed another day)
the safety of the missionaries. Frankly, given where many missionaries serve
and drawing on my own experiences 20 years ago, it's a miracle more
missionaries aren't harmed.

An awful lot of assumptions are being made in these comments. A water heater
could go on the blink at any time. Apartment inspections would not have
necessarily prevented this. And we don't know from the evidence presented
so far that the apartment was substandard in any way.

But I do agree
that this incident should prompt the Church to make sure all missionary
apartments are equipped with CO2 and smoke detectors. With the Church's
purchasing power they should be able to obtain them cheaply. Then it's just
a matter of making sure the batteries get changed on schedule.

To all those saying apartments are inspected regularly, that is not true of
every mission. I remember 1 apartment inspection during my 2 year mission. It
consisted of them making sure it was clean and that we had not put any holes in
the walls. 0 safety checks were done.